Category Archive for 'Current Events'

The Wesleyan Forum for International DevelopmentSaturday, February 18, 20129:30 am – 5 pm

Check-in table at 41 Wyllys.

Attendance is free. No registration is required. Come and go as you please.

Free breakfast, Iguanas Ranas lunch and book for those who arrive by 10 am.

Come engage in a dialogue about what works and what doesn’t in international development. Through lectures, panel discussions and workshops with student groups, you will hear from researchers, alumni and students about their successes and challenges in fields that include public health, education and technology.

For students who have interned, volunteered or worked internationally–or for those interested in doing so in the future–this Forum is a space for you to think critically about how to do so in a way that makes a positive impact. It will connect you to resources for getting involved, including opportunities for internships, fellowships and research. For the complete schedule with locations, click here. Speakers include:

Building on the successful model of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), President Clinton hosts the CGI U Annual Meeting for students and youth organizations to create innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues. Since its inaugural meeting in 2008, CGI U has brought together more than 3,500 students from over 650 schools and 110 countries.

In order to attend, all CGI U participants are required to develop a Commitment to Action: a new, specific, and measurable plan that addresses a challenge on their campus, in their local community, or around the world. The CGI U meeting includes plenary sessions, working sessions, and other special events that provide participants with a wide variety of knowledge-sharing and networking opportunities. The program allows CGI U members to discuss global issues, develop practical skills, identify potential partners, and formulate concrete plans of action for the months ahead.

The application to attend the 2012 meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), hosted by President Clinton, is now available. Click here to apply online. The deadline for applying to attend the meeting is Tuesday, January 17.

President Clinton will host CGI U 2012 at The George Washington University from Friday, March 30 to Sunday, April 1, 2012. CGI U is President Clinton’s initiative designed to engage the next generation of leaders on college campuses around the world. Each CGI U student member makes a Commitment to Action: a specific plan of action that addresses a pressing challenge on their campus, in their community, or in a different part of the world.

CGI U is proof that young people have the power to make a significant impact by confronting some of the world’s most urgent challenges.

September 30th – October 1st, 2011Wesleyan University – Middletown, CT

Free Entry

The Wesleyan International Relations Association would like to invite you to its 2011 Conference, “Deciphering Pakistan and US-Pakistan Relations,” organized in collaboration with the Wesleyan Pakistan Flood Relief Initiative and Wesleyan South Asian Studies Faculty.

The conference aims to increase understanding and awareness about Pakistan from its culture to its politics. The conference will also focus on US-Pakistan relations, which have both strained and strengthened after 9/11. The conference’s speakers are among the top commentators, officials and scholars on Pakistan and US-Pakistan relations, and the event will be open to the students, faculty and the larger public.

Panelists and guest speakers include:

Shahid Javed Burki is a professional economist who has served as Finance Minister of Pakistan and as a Vice President of the World Bank. He has written extensively on economic development and on the political history of Pakistan.

Ambassador Howard B. Schaffer is a retired American Foreign Service officer who spent much of his 36-year career dealing with U.S. relations with South Asia.

Asim Khwaja is the Sumitomo-FASID Professor of International Finance and Development at the Harvard Kennedy School and the faculty chair of the MPA/ID program.

Najam Sethi is the editor-in-chief of The Friday Times, a Lahore based political weekly, and the Editor-in-Chief of Geo News. He is the only journalist from Asia to receive three international press freedom awards in a decade.

Humeira Iqtidar is currently a research fellow at the Centre of South Asian Studies and at King’s College, Cambridge University. Her research is concerned with secularisation, secularism, feminism and Islamism.

Stanley Wolpert is an American historian, biographer and novelist and also an emeritus professor of History in University of California, Los Angeles.

Najeeb Ghauri is the founder, Chairman and CEO of NetSol Technologies, Inc. Mr. Ghauri is heavily involved in political and non-governmental organizations committed to US-Pakistan relations, particularly the US-Pakistan Business Council (vice president) and the Pakistan Human Development Fund (founding board member).

Mehreen Jabbar is a noted Pakistani film-maker and television director/producer. She directed the Pakistani film “Ramchand Pakistani”, which won the Audience Award of the Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland.

Imran Aziz Mian, a highly popular Qawwal from Pakistan, transfers the passion of his Qawwalis to his audience in live performances.

The conference schedule is as follows:

Friday, September 30th:

4-6:30pm: Screening of Ramchand Pakistan followed by a discussion with the film’s Director Mehreen Jabbar. Free Entry

The speaker, Haroon Moghul, is Executive Director of The Maydan Institute. He served as Director of Public Relations at the Islamic Center at New York University (NYU) from 2007 to 2009. He holds an M.A. in Middle East and South Asian Studies from Columbia University, where he is currently a Ph.D. candidate. His fields of study include Muslim nationalism in South Asia, colonial and post-colonial Islamic politics and the development of the Indian Ocean economy. Mr. Moghul graduated from NYU in 2002 with a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and Philosophy, and a minor in Arabic. He has also has studied Persian, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu.

The Wesleyan International Relations Association (WIRA) would like to announce its plans for its prospective inaugural International Relations conference. WIRA plans to hosts International Relations Conferences annually, focused on a different region of the world each year, to give Wesleyan students, faculty, administration and community a chance to hear from specialists on the specific region. This year, WIRA, in collaboration with the Wesleyan Pakistan Flood Relief Initiative and South Asian Studies Certificate Faculty have decided to organize the conference on “Deciphering Pakistan and US-Pak Relations.” As part of this conference, we will invite academics, diplomats and journalists from all over the world to come to Wesleyan University and address the topic from their specific lens of expertise. Given the scale of the conference, we will require considerable planning for it. Thus, we would like to invite the Wesleyan student body to join the Organizing Team for the conference

Topic – “Deciphering Pakistan and US-Pak Relations” Conference”

Despite being an important strategic player in South Asia, Pakistan is a mystery for many people around the world. Thus, the aim of this conference is to increase understanding and awareness about Pakistan, its problems and contributions. In league with this, the conference will also focus on US-Pak relations which have simultaneously strained and strengthened substantially after 9/11. Our speakers will analyze Pakistan’s geopolitical and social situation, and US-Pakistan relations in a global context.

What is the format of the Conference?

The event is scheduled for 1st October 2011 at Wesleyan University. This will be a day-long conference which will conclude in the evening with a concert and cultural event. We will have 2-key note speakers, 2 panel discussions and lunch. The conference will be free to attend for all. However, we will charge a nominal fee for the cultural event and lunch. All proceeds will go to the Pakistan Flood Relief efforts.

This will be the first International Relations Conference at Wesleyan University. We hope Wesleyan students will join the organizing team to help us start the tradition of IR Conferences at Wesleyan University. Not only will this be a great opportunity for students interested in International Relations to network with like-minded students, academics and diplomats but this will also give students great experience in organizing large conferences. We are looking for students for the following positions:

If you are interested in any of the aforementioned positions, please send an e-mail to achaudhry@wesleyan.edu with your name, the position (if applicable) that you are interested in and your relevant background (just a few sentences should suffice).

Wesleyan for Japan is the official website of Wesleyan Japan Earthquake Relief Group.
In response to the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, we are putting all of our efforts together to raise both awareness and funds to aid people in Japan. All proceeds will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross. Visit our website for event information on campus. We are also welcoming a post submission of any type (photo, video, link, etc) from you for the better understanding of the current situation. If you have any questions, please contact Fumi Tanakadate (ftanakadate_at_wesleyan.edu).

The New York Times is inviting readers to submit entries to the fifth annual “Win a Trip with Nick” contest.

Through this contest, Op Ed-columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas D. Kristof hopes to increase awareness and understanding about the many complex issues and opportunities for the developing world. This year, Mr. Kristof will choose two winners – one currently-enrolled college or graduate student and one adult over the age of 60 – to accompany him on a reporting trip. To be considered for the contest, applicants are invited to submit either a written essay or a video entry that articulates their desire to accompany Mr. Kristof on a reporting trip and explains why they are an ideal candidate for such an experience.

Essay submissions are limited to 700 words and should be send to WinATrip@nytimes.com. Video submissions must be under three minutes and should be posted on Mr. Kristof’s YouTube channel www.youtube.com/nicholaskristof. Submissions must be received by January 18, 2011, and students must be 18 or older to be eligible for the contest.

This past summer, DoSomething.org awarded Tasmiha Khan ’12 a Change for the Children Grant to work with the World Peace & Cultural Foundation to identify people suffering from diabetes mellitus in Bangladesh through community mobilization and blood screenings. You can read more about Tasmiha and the work she has been doing though the interview that she granted for the Blitz, a newspaper published in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Back in August, Kennedy Odede wrote an Op-Ed for the New York Times entitled “Slumdog Tourism” that is well worth reading. “Slum tourism is a one-way street,’ he writes, “They get photos; we lose a piece of our dignity. Slums will not go away because a few dozen Americans or Europeans spent a morning walking around them. There are solutions to our problems — but they won’t come about through tours.”

Wesleyan University’s Pakistani Students’ Association has launched the “Pakistan Flood Relief Initiative,” to form an action team which will coordinate a number of fund-raisers throughout the year to help the victims of the deadly floods that hit Pakistan recently.

The Pakistan flood crisis began in late July when unusually heavy monsoon rains swept across the country. Currently 20% of the country is under water. About 1500 people have died as a result, and more than 21 million people are homeless. The United Nations has declared it to be the worst crisis to have ever occurred in the UN’s history. Red Cross has called it a massive crisis which has not received the massive support it needs. One flood worker said that the floods are the scale of the Tsunami, destruction of the Haiti and the complexity of the Middle East.

The aid required is huge but donations have been slow to come by. People in Pakistan are trying their best to help the flood victims, but Pakistan cannot overcome this crisis without help from other countries.

If you are interested in helping with the crisis, please join the Pakistan Flood Relief Initiative meeting on Sunday (September 19th) at 4pm at PAC001. During this meeting, ideas will be discussed for potential fund-raisers that will be held throughout the year to help the victims of the worst humanitarian crisis in decades.

Here is a link to a video that summarizes the current situation really well

Almost half of college students have experienced abuse in a relationship, according to a 2008 study. Abuse can range from cyber-stalking to beatings and rape.

Four experts will look at relationship violence on campuses, how to recognize danger signs and get help at the Hartford Courant and FOX CT Key Issues Forum, “The Person You Think You Know: Signs and Solutions of Campus Violence.” The forum will be held on Tuesday, April 27 at Wesleyan University’s Beckham Hall – Fayerweather Building – from 6 to 7:15 p.m. The Fayerweather Building is located at 47 Wyllys Avenue in Middletown.

Panelists are:

Jaclyn Friedman, Wesleyan class of ’93, who is a performer and co-editor of “Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape.”

Connie J. Kirkland, director of sexual assault services at George Mason University in Virginia and a national expert on campus stalking.

Janet Peckinpaugh, a 30-year broadcast journalist with her own media marketing firm who has been a victim of stalking and domestic violence.

Claire Potter, professor of American studies and history at Wesleyan University, whose research interest includes the study of violence against women.

MODERATED BY: Laurie Perez, reporter, FOX CT

The event is co-sponsored by the Hartford Courant and FOX CT, and presented in partnership with Wesleyan University. It is free and open to the public. Anyone interested in attending is encouraged to register by email at corpaffairs@courant.com or by calling 860-241-3614. Limited parking is available in Lot E or T; additional street parking can be found on Mt. Vernon, Washington Terrace and High Street. Visit http://www.wesleyan.edu/about/campusmap.html for a campus map.

To schedule an interview with moderator Laurie Perez or any of the panelists, please contact Andrea Savastra at 860-241-3934 or by e-mail: asavastra@courant.com.

Almost half of college students have experienced abuse in a relationship, according to a 2008 study. Abuse can range from cyber-stalking to beatings and rape.Four experts will look at relationship violence on campuses, how to recognize danger signs and get help at the Hartford Courant and FOX CT Key Issues Forum, “The Person You Think You Know: Signs and Solutions of Campus Violence.” The forum will be held on Tuesday, April 27 at Wesleyan University’s Beckham Hall – Fayerweather Building – from 6 to 7:15 p.m. The Fayerweather Building is located at 47 Wyllys Avenue in Middletown.
Panelists are:·Jaclyn Friedman, Wesleyan class of ’93, who is a performer and co-editor of “Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape.”·Connie J. Kirkland, director of sexual assault services at George Mason University in Virginia and a national expert on campus stalking.·Janet Peckinpaugh, a 30-year broadcast journalist with her own media marketing firm who has been a victim of stalking and domestic violence.·Claire Potter, professor of American studies and history at Wesleyan University, whose research interest includes the study of violence against women.

MODERATED BY: Laurie Perez, reporter, FOX CT

The event is co-sponsored by the Hartford Courant and FOX CT, and presented in partnership with Wesleyan University. It is free and open to the public. Anyone interested in attending is encouraged to register by email at corpaffairs@courant.com or by calling 860-241-3614. Limited parking is available in Lot E or T; additional street parking can be found on Mt. Vernon, Washington Terrace and High Street. Visit http://www.wesleyan.edu/about/campusmap.html for a campus map.
To schedule an interview with moderator Laurie Perez or any of the panelists, please contact Andrea Savastra at 860-241-3934 or by e-mail: asavastra@courant.com.

March 24, 7:00 p.m.
Daniel Family Commons
3rd floor of the Usdan University Center

The Usdan Common Connections Committee is happy to invite you to a panel discussion focusing on the current efforts to reform the health care system in the United States. Much of President Obama’s first year in Office and the first year of the Democrat controlled Congress has been focused on drafting a comprehensive health care reform bill. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed their own bills, however both have come under intense scrutiny from many different stakeholders. The state of Connecticut is also on the forefront of reform efforts at the state level and the panel will include policy experts and frontline personnel working to make Connecticut a model for the rest of the country to follow.

The panel will be comprised of Damien Sheehan-Connor, Wesleyan faculty in economics, Jill Zorn, Program Officer at Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, Dr. Michael Grey, Chief of Medicine at the Hospital of Central Connecticut, and Elizabeth Wiley, National Secretary, American Medical Student Association and Physicians for a National Health Program member and George Washington University School of Medicine student.

The panel will cover a broad range of topics and will debate approaches and outcomes in the development of the legislation currently being considered. The panel will also take questions and will engage the audience throughout the evening.

There will be a complimentary pizza dinner at the start of the program.